10ft shark which terrified Majorca tourists 'was swimming in shallows after being stung by a ray'

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A 10-foot shark which caused panicked tourists to flee the water a packed beach in Majorca was swimming in the shallows because it had been stung by a ray, an autopsy revealed on Friday.

Police closed the beach early on Thursday afternoon as the fish swam around just a few feet from the shoreline, watched by bathers who had retreated from the sea in fear.

The shark, confirmed to be a tintorera, made its unexpected appearance at Cala Domingos, a sandy beach that gets very crowded in August in Calas de Majorca on the island’s east coast.

Footage showed the animal moving through the clear blue water off the beach before coming in closer and forcing tourists out of the water. English and French speakers could be heard shouting out from rocks overlooking the sea where holidaymakers took refuge - and children screaming as the fish came in closer to where they were standing.

A veterinary nurse confirmed on Friday that the shark had been pulled out of the water and euthanised with a tranquiliser after it was discovered to be in distress.

“We got the first call around 3.30pm to say a shark was swimming off the beach and appeared to be swimming okay and as part of normal protocol waited for an hour because such behaviour can be normal and doesn’t necessarily mean it is ill or distressed," Guillem Felix, a veterinary nurse for Palma Aquarium’s Recovery Centre said.

“We got a second call an hour later to say it had ended up writhing on the sand and the lifeguards had put it back in the water but had subsequently returned to the shoreline."